The Dynamics of Ritual Space in the Hellenistic and Roman East*

Abstract

Based on the archaeological data, the literary evidence, and the epigraphic sources, the article offers an overview of the strong interrelation between the dynamic changes in rituals and the subsequent architectural and structural adjustments of their space of performance. Violent interaction, social transformation, peaceful cross-cultural communication, the migration of new populations, the introduction of new cults, the mobility of ethnic and religious groups, ideological and political factors, and rivalry between cult places are some of the parameters that need to be taken into account, when studying the interdependence between ritual and space. Chronologically, the focus lies mainly on the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial periods, but a few selected examples from the preceding periods shall complete the picture of this complex phenomenon.Résumé : Cet article, fondé sur les données archéologiques, les témoignages littéraires et les sources épigraphiques, propose un panorama des relations étroites qui se nouent entre la dynamique des changements dans les rituels et les ajustements architecturaux et structurels qui en résultent dans l'espace de leur accomplissement. Pour étudier l'interdépendance entre rituel et espace, plusieurs paramètres doivent être pris en compte : les interactions violentes, les transformations sociales, la communication interculturelle pacifique, la migration de populations nouvelles, l'introduction de nouveaux cultes, la mobilité des groupes ethniques et religieux. L'arc chronologique de cette investigation s'étend de la période hellénistique à l'empire romain, mais quelques exemples tirés des périodes antérieures permettront de compléter le tableau de ce phénomène complexe.

Ancient Greek Deathscapes

“…5) of power that actively elicited memory (e.g., Dickey 1992;Morris 1992;Stamatopoulou 1999;Snodgrass 2009;and Dimakis 2011;2012). Despite the prudence and caution that should be shown in the treatment of rituals and performance as objects of a comparative or diachronic study, 3 these are essential to the understand ing of cult, religion, and worship; for the cultural profile of a group; or even for the use of space (e.g., Burkert 1983;Seaford 1994;Cosmopoulos 2003;Chaniotis 2005;and Mylonopoulos 2008; see also Sokolowski 1969). Despite the prudence and caution that should be shown in the treatment of rituals and performance as objects of a comparative or diachronic study, 3 these are essential to the understand ing of cult, religion, and worship; for the cultural profile of a group; or even for the use of space (e.g., Burkert 1983;Seaford 1994;Cosmopoulos 2003;Chaniotis 2005;and Mylonopoulos 2008; see also Sokolowski 1969).…”

Honorific Practices and the Politics of Space on Hellenistic Delos: Portrait Statue Monuments Along the Dromos

“…180). 13 On the architectural embellishment of sacred space and its importance for ritual activities, see Mylonopoulos 2008. 14 Vallois 1923, 136, 146-47.…”

Mobile situations:Exedraeas stages of gathering in Greek sanctuaries

“…Studies of ancient Greek sanctuaries have traditionally privileged monumentality and focused on major foci of ritual action, such as temples and altars. While recent work has paid greater attention to the spatial and performative dynamics of individual sanctuaries (Gerding 2006;Mylonopoulos 2008;Melfi 2010a;Scott 2010), ephemeral and transient practices, such as gatherings and processions, remain unsatisfactorily explored, certainly when it comes to integrating material evidence more systematically. This paper takes inspiration from the so-called 'New Mobilities Paradigm' (henceforth NMP), 1 developed within sociology and geography in the past two decades, to propose new strategies and terminologies for confronting the issue of gatherings and other forms of what will be referred to here as 'mobile situations' in Greek sanctuaries.…”